about the project Ida van der Lee was a guest in the municipality of Hellendoorn during one month. Hellendoorn consists of the villages Hellendoorn, Nijverdal, Hulse, Daarle and Haarle. Van der Lee wondered whether the daily life in these five villages differed significantly and, most of all, she wondered how the inhabitants of the villages interacted.

During her research and interviews with inhabitants Van der Lee noticed the gaps and huge differences between the villages of the municipality, and she began to use the metaphor of a dysfunctional family. In the final presentation of the research she thus presented the Hellendoorn ‘family’ as a patient admitted to a hospital.

This project is part of ‘Proeftuin Twente’, a project that researches the cultural characteristics of Twente in order to use the results for future developments in the area. For the period of a month 14 artists lived in the 14 municipalities of Twente in a mobile laboratory.

about artist and participants Ida van der Lee was responsible for the concept of ‘De familie Hellendoorn op zaal’, Marja Sonneveld made the video impression of research and presentation. Van der Lee spoke with several people in the villages, on the land, near the church and in the textile-industry.

Ida van der Lee (Beemster, 1961) studied visual arts at the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht. Until 2001 she also worked part-time in healthcare. Van der Lee is fascinated by ongoing changes in people, places or politics, because it makes people more aware of their memories or emotions. She thus focuses her projects on those changes. In her projects she seeks close contact with society and uses art to communicate.

Marja Sonneveld is active in photography and film. She produced presentations for museums like the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and for organisations like Natuurmonumenten.